biography

PAUL WEILINGsaxophonist

*PRESS INFO

Alto- and soprano saxophonist Paul Weiling has been highly
rewarded by the press for his “extraodinary, harmonically
powerful supported lyricism” and for “letting his
saxophone swing and jubilate with freedom and fantasy”. He
is an adventurer and world traveller in music, combining Jazz
improvisation and world music in various international crossover
groups and projects. His performings and recordings so far
include brilliant musicians from Spain and Greece, Cuba, Africa,
India and the Middle East.

Within these eclectic projects new sounds develop by blending
the musical styles of different cultures. Improvisation is the
key to bringing it all together and to keep the music fresh and
alive. Genuine compsitions and special arrangements based on the
exploration of other cultures deliver the framework.

Over the years the Jazz educated improviser has mainly focused
on Flamenco. With his group Compasión and the CD
Salmuera (2009) he discovered an innovative and convincing
way for merging these styles into a new idiom. Paul’s
Tales of Tala is another Music: World Series
supported project formed by five musicians from India, the Middle
East and Europe, exploring the Indian language (tala) of
rhythm and improvisation. Their CD Untold has been
released in 2012. Together with percussionist and marimba player
Leticia Bal he leads the Latin, world-jazz and flamenco duo
Quartier Latin, exploring new possibilities of
live-on-stage sequencing or “loops”.

Besides leading his own projects, Paul currently plays with
the John Fillmore Quartet (CD Amento) and as a
guest soloist with Trio Son Cubano (CD Donde qiera se
ven).

Since 1995, Paul has been working at the Fontys
Conservatory, Tilburg as a teacher for Jazz saxophone,
ensemble and improvisation for classical trained musicians. Since
2006 he is also a mentor and study coach for a group of
conservatory students.

*MUSICIAN

VISION: "Sound has been my main reason to pick up the
saxophone. Improvisation is also most important to me. In every
performance I strive for sharing the inspiration of creating the
music with my audience."

PRESS

"Paul Weiling lets his saxophone swing and jubilate with an
amount of freedom and fantasy that can only make you
happy".
Marlies Jansen / Mundo Flamenco (NL)

JAZZ

photography: Inge van Dam

During hismusical carreer Paul has always been "walking on the
wild side", seeking for adventure, new sounds and experiences.
His first group as a leader, the Paul Weiling Trio was
originally inspired by the great trio recordings of Sonny
Rollins. For their 1997 CD (New Amsterdam Reflections) he
invited slide-guitarist David Tronzo from the New York Knitting
Factory "impro" scene.

The project Monk Moods of the Paul Weiling
Quartet was an initiative dedicated to one of the most
important composers of the 20th century: Thelonious Monk. The
quartet debuted in October 2002 with a five night gig at the
Amsterdam Pompoen Club and with a live recording by the
Dutch VPRO radio.

FLAMENCO

photography: Harry van Kesteren

Paul’s first flamenco experience was playing with Niko
Langenhuijsen’s group Caoutchouc, combining a Jazz
rhythm section, five horns and three singers. Their CD
Caoutchouc plays Lorca was presented at the Utrecht
Vredenburg concert hall in 1992 during a dubble feature together
with Carmen Linares and her ensemble. One of the CD tracks
has been remixed with the great voice of Remedios Amaya by
producer Ricardo Pachón. After years of experimenting
with all kinds of setups Paul rediscovered flamenco and his
affection for the sound of the Spanish guitar reaching back to
his early years as a young guitarist. In 2004 Paul Weiling
started the group Compasión with the singer Carlos
Denia Moreno. Their CD Salmuera was received
enthousiastically by the international press. In 2011, the
ensemble was invited to play at the Dutch Flamenco Biennal in
2011 in Rotterdam and at the Amsterdam Bimhuis. During the same
period Paul worked with various flamenco ensembles as Alain
Labrie’s group Labryenco from The Hague and
Dibujos de Holanda, a special line-up with ten top
performers representing the thriving Dutch Flamenco Flamenco
scene at the Flamenco Biennial 2009 (Vedenburg Music Center,
Utrecht). The John Fillmore Group (CD Amento 2012)
features Paul on soprano saxophone.

WORLD JAZZ

photography: Irene Bal

With Global Axis (CD New World Music) Paul
produced a blend of jazz, world, pop and contamporary music.
Compasión (CD Salmuera) is an (almost)
traditional flamenco trio combined with a two-piece hornsection.
Together double bass player Tjitze Vogel, Paul explored a wide
range of world music along with musicians from Greece (Nikos
Tsilogiannis’ Pan Project), China (Ming
Principle), India and the Middle East (Tales of Tala).
Recent encounters have also included traditionalAfrican music
(Michael Baird’s Rhythm Orgy Band) as well as Cuban
(Trio Son Cubano).

*BANDLEADER, COMPOSER, PRODUCER

VISION: “Professional craftsmanship and original
creativity as an artist are my biggest ambitions as a musician,
composer and producer. To me, music as an art form means beauty,
adventure and a great sense of freedom, exploring new ways of
music.”

During his carreer Paul released several CD’s,
documenting four of the projects he initiated. As (co-) producer
he worked with different music companies. In addition to writing
the music, he was also involved in the recording, editing,
mixing, mastering and the lay-out of these CD’s.

CD New Amsterdam
Reflections

In 1994, Paul started his first band as a leader: the Paul
Weiling Trio. He produced the CD New Amsterdam
Reflections for the Dutch label VIA records in 1997. The trio
also features David Tronzo on slide guitar as special
guest from New York. The CD has been presented during a European
tour including major jazz festivals such as the North Sea Jazz
Festival in The Hague.

In 1999 Paul created a new musical concept for a bassless
quartet with percussion kit, piano/synthesizer and voice,
resulting in the quartet Gobal Axis. The group’s
very first live appearance was recorded by the Dutch VPRO
radiostation in December 1999 and in 2001, the band recorded
their first album ‘New World Music’ for
TryTone Records, Amsterdam.

In 2004 Paul presented his new group Compasión at
the Global Village Festival, Amersfoort, featuring flamenco
dancer La Kika as a special guest. Compasión brings a
combination of flamenco and improvised music. The music is
inspired by traditional forms as well as newly composed material.
Elements of jazz and flamenco make a unity, or a contrast. The
project was supported by the Music: World Series
foundation, Utrecht. The Dutch Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst
provided a grant for Paul Weiling to write new compositions for
this ensemle. “An innovation which sounds so natural
that you ask yourself why nobody ever did this
before.” ***** Ton Maas / Volkskrant (NL)

CD Untold

Tales of Tala is another project in cooperation with
the Music: World Series. Five musicians from India, Persia
and Europe join forces to explore the Indian language
(tala) of rhythm and improvisation. Their CD Untold
has been recorded in 2011. “Timbres melt into a
twinklinng almalgam. Initiator Paul Weiling appears as an
impressive soloist in this unique line-up.” ***** Ton
Maas / Volkskrant (NL)

*TEACHER AND COACH

VISION:“The student's actual level always
represents the starting point. As a teachter, I provide my
experience and insights for immediate improvement by making the
best use of everything a player has learnt until this point.
During this proces missing links lead to decisions regarding
which other skills require being developed in the
future.”

Former student Joris Roelofs: "The lessons with Paul have
been very motivating; his enormous entousiasm for improvisation
really stimulated me to work on my saxophone and eventually
enabled me to play more freely."

During his lengthy carreer as a teacher, Paul developed his
own improvisation method based on solo transcription and
analysis, motivic development and a compact, highly practical
harmonic and rhythmic theory concept. His teaching program
includes the following lessons and workshops:

Paul first picked up the guitar at the age of twelve, but soon
he switched to saxophone, inspired by Coltrane’s LP A
Love Supreme which he received as a present from a friend.
Other important influences were other records and concerts during
the seventies, for example Miles Davis’ fusion period,
Weather Report, Ray Anderson’s Slickaphonics, Chicago Art
Ensemble, Carla Bley Orchestra, and expecially saxophonists like
Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman or John Handy and Charlie Mariano
(both experimenting with classical Indian music during that
period).

At the age of twenty Paul started his carreer as a
professional musician, performing on the local scene in the area
of Münster, Germany. He taught saxophone at a
musician’s collective music school located above a music
store in Münster, one block from the Landesmuseum, where
exclusive Jazz concerts were staged among impressive modern art
exibitions. In 1984, he moved from Germany to the Netherlands,
where he studied Jazz saxophone at the Amsterdam School of Arts /
Hilversum’s Conservatory with Ferdinand Povel, Herman
Schoonderwalt and Henk van Twillert. After graduating with a
Master's Degree in music performance and a supplement certificate
for ‘classical repertoire’ he continued his studies
with David Liebman in New York. In 2004 Paul started learning
palmas (flamenco hand-clapping). After training sessions
in 2006 he started individual and collective student coaching at
the Fontys Conservatory, Tilburg. In 2011, Paul picked up the
cajón as a new instrument.